American Foreign Policy

The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century

Fifth Edition

A balanced and contemporary introduction to U.S. foreign policy, with a built-in reader.

Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, American Foreign Policy focuses on foreign policy strategy as well as foreign policy politics. The heavily revised Fifth Edition offers greater emphasis on the role that domestic politics and institutions (both formal and informal) play in shaping American foreign policy. A consistent strategic framework (the four Ps: Power, Peace, Prosperity, and Principles) keeps students thinking analytically about policy decisions. And new chapters on key geopolitical regions apply the core concepts from both spheres to the issues that are most relevant today, including the rise of China, the consequences of the euro crisis, and the recent wars in the Middle East.

Restructured and revised

New and revised chapters in Part I provide expanded coverage of the roles and strategic processes of domestic institutions (both formal and informal) in shaping foreign policy. Part II has been restructured to examine the most pressing policy concerns in a geopolitical context, with each chapter containing a case study relevant to that chapter’s region. For example, the domestic debate over the use of torture is discussed in the chapter on the Middle East, and immigration issues are explored in the chapter on Latin America.

Relevant and up-to-date

Every edition of American Foreign Policy has explored the most current and critical foreign policy issues. The Fifth Edition maintains this contemporary perspective with coverage of

• China’s rise, and its implications for U.S. power and prosperity• the renewed focus on Mexican and Latin American immigration• the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the United States’ role in aiding rebellions and shaping new democracies in the Middle East• the end of the Iraq War and the United States’ new approach in Afghanistan• the beginning of Barack Obama’s second term and the evolution of his foreign policy doctrine

Tools to get students thinking analytically

The book’s 4 Ps framework—Power, Peace, Prosperity, and Principles—underpins each chapter and provides students with a consistent, helpful way to examine and compare foreign policy decisions and approaches across regions. In addition, a variety of primary-source boxes give students perspectives on how to interpret foreign policy decisions in history and how foreign policy theory translates to practice.

Text and reader in one

American Foreign Policy contains a complete reader, eliminating the need for a separate book. Readings (half of which are new to the Fifth Edition) are grouped at the end of each part.

Part IThe Context Of U.S. Foreign Policy: Theory and History

Chapter 1: The Strategic Context: Foreign Policy Strategy and the Essence of Choice Chapter 2: The Domestic Context: The Three Branches and the Process of Choice Chapter 3: The Domestic Context: Interest Groups, Media, and Public Opinion Chapter 4: The Historical Context: Great Debates in American Foreign Policy, 1789–1945Chapter 5: The Cold War Context: Origins and First StagesChapter 6: The Cold War Context: Lessons and Legacies

Readings for Part I(readings in bold are new to the Fifth Edition)

1.1 John Mearsheimer, from The Tragedy of Great Power Politics1.2 Robert Keohane, “Governance in a Partially Globalized World” 1.3 Gabriel Kolko, from The Roots of American Foreign Policy1.4 Tony Smith, from American’s Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy in the 20th Century

2.1 Arthur Schlesinger, testimony to the U.S. Congress, Special Subcommittee on War Powers2.2 Graham T. Allison, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis”

3.1 John Byrne Cooke, from Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism3.2 Ole R. Holsti, “Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Challenges to the Almond-Lippmann Consensus”

4.1 Henry Kissinger, from Diplomacy4.2 Walter LaFeber, from The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860–1898

5.1 Bernard Brodie, from Strategy in the Missile Age5.2 George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct”

6.1 Leslie H. Gelb, “Vietnam; The System Worked”6.2 John Lewis Gaddis, from The United States and the End of the Cold War6.3 Mikhail Gorbachev, “The Soviet Union’s Crucial Role”

Part IIAmerican Foreign Policy in the 21st Century: Choices and Challenges

Chapter 7: Grand Strategy for a New Era: (I) Power and PeaceChapter 8: Grand Strategy for a New Era: (II) Prosperity and PrinciplesChapter 9: Post-Cold War Foreign Policy Politics: Politics Beyond the Water’s Edge Chapter 10: Asia’s Rising Strategic Importance: Relations with China and in the Asia-Pacific Region Chapter 11: War, Peace, Terrorism, Democracy: Old and New Challenges in the Middle East Chapter 12: Old Friends, Old Enemy: 21st Century Relations with Europe and Russia Chapter 13: The Americas: Relations with Latin America and Canada Chapter 14: Africa: Persisting Old Issues, Pressing Newer OnesReadings for Part II (readings in bold are new to the Fifth Edition)

7.1 Robert J. Lieber, from Power and Willpower in the American Future: The United States Is Not Destined to Decline7.2 G. John Ikenberry, “Liberal Internationalism 3.0: America and the Dilemmas of Liberal World Order”7.3 Charles A. Kupchan, from No One’s World: The West, the Rising Rest and the Coming Global Turn

8.1 Joseph E. Stiglitz, from Making Globalization Work8.2 UNAIDS, “Report on the Global Epidemic 2012”8.3 U.S. National Research Council, from Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis8.4 Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, “Democratization and the Danger of War”

9.1 From the National War Powers Commission Report9.2 Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, from Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics9.3 Matthew A. Baum, “Sex, Lies and War: How Soft News Brings Foreign Policy to the Inattentive Public”

11.1 George W. Bush, “Commencement Address to the U.S. Military Academy” and “The National Security Strategy of the United States of America”11.2 Dan Caldwell, from Vortex of Conflict: U.S. Policy Toward Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq11.3 Marc Lynch, “The Big Think Behind the Arab Spring”

12.1 Giovanna Grevi, from Challenges for EU Foreign Policy in 2013: Renewing the EU’s Role in the World12.2 Yevgeny Primakov, from Russia in a Polycentric World

13.1 Julia E. Sweig, from Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century13.2 José R. Cárdenas, “Cuba Policy in a Second Obama Term”13.3 Larry Birns and Frederick Mills, “Best Time for U.S.-Cuba Rapprochement Is Now”

14.1 Obama Administration, “U.S. Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa”14.2 World Bank, from Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s Support to It